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Sakura Wars: The Movie
|starring = Neve Campbell Kristen Bell Renée Zellweger Haley Joel Osment Mae Whitman James Garner Reese Witherspoon Val Kilmer Kiefer Sutherland Nicolas Cage James Cromwell Matthew McConaughey |music = Basil Poledouris |cinematography = Patrick Lin Kōji Tanaka |editing = Tim Mertens Eric L. Beason Arthur Coburn |studio = Castle Rock Entertainment Amblin Entertainment Beacon Pictures The Kennedy/Marshall Company Dino De Laurentiis Company Renaissance Pictures Production I.G |distributor = Toei Company Warner Bros. Pictures Universal Pictures |released = |runtime = 85 minutes |country = Japan |language = Japanese |budget = |gross = }} is a 2001 Japanese animated fantasy film based on the ''Sakura Wars media franchise by Sega and Red Entertainment. The film was produced by Castle Rock Entertainment, Amblin Entertainment, The Kennedy/Marshall Company, Beacon Pictures, Dino De Laurentiis Company, Renaissance Pictures and Production I.G, directed by Christopher Reeve, Sam Raimi and Rob Minkoff and the screenplay written by Linda Woolverton, David Henry Hwang, Roger Allers, Bob Tzudiker, Noni White, Irene Mecchi and Ralph Zondag as well as the story written by John Musker, Ron Clements, Tab Murphy, Kirk Wise and Gary Trousdale. The film stars the voices of Chisa Yokoyama, Michie Tomizawa, Urara Takano, Kumiko Nishihara, Yuriko Fuchizaki, Mayumi Tanaka, Maya Okamoto, Kazue Ikura, and Ai Orikasa. A sequel to Sakura Wars 3: Is Paris Burning?, the Flower Division of the Imperial Assault Force—a group of magically-gifted women who defend Tokyo from supernatural threats in steam-powered mechs called Koubu—team up with new recruit Ratchet Altair to defend the division's existence from the schemes of the American Douglas-Stewart company. Production I.G had previously collaborated with the Sakura Wars developers on cutscenes for the video game series since Sakura Wars 2: Thou Shalt Not Die. The aim was to create an experience impossible to achieve with either the video games or other released media. Production lasted three years, with a budget of . Announced in 1999 alongside Is Paris Burning? and other Sakura Wars anime projects, the film was heavily promoted in Japan. The film was released in Japan on December 22, 2001 by Universal Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures, and it was a financial success. It was localised for Western home media release in 2002 by Universal Studios Home Video, Warner Bros., Pioneer Entertainment, with later releases handled by Warner Home Video and Funimation. It was praised by critics for its animation and music, but the plot and characters were negatively received. Plot In 1926 Tokyo, steam power has become the dominant energy source. At the Great Imperial Theater, the Flower Division of the Imperial Assault Force—a group of magically-gifted women—defend the city against demonic attacks born from negative human elements using steam-powered mechs called the Koubu-Kais, an updated version of the Koubus, while also maintaining a cover as a theater troupe called the Imperial Theater Revue. Led by Imperial Japanese Navy officer Ichiro Ogami, the Flower Division consists of swordswoman Sakura Shinguji, lead actress Sumire Kanzaki, Russian ex-soldier Maria Tachibara, the young French-born Iris Chateaubriand, Ryukyu-born Kanna Kirishima, Chinese inventor Kohran Ri, aristocratic Japanese-Italian Orihime Soletta, and the emotionally-distant Leni Milchstraße. Meanwhile, Douglas-Stewart, an American corporation led by Brent Furlong, is determined to make the Flower Division obsolete through the use of Japhkiels, a type of unmanned mecha that are actually demons in disguise. While Ogami is returning from Paris during the Christmas season, Ratchet Altair, the former leader of Orihime and Leni's failed Europe-based Star Division, arrives from New York City and joins the Flower Division as a new recruit in her efforts to set up a similar division in New York City. Dispatched to fight a fresh demon attack on the city that night, the Flower Division watch some of the demons being taken by the Japhkiels. After the Flower Division suffers multiple disastrous battles, however, Furlong and Imperial Army officer Haruyoshi Tanuma use their influence to capture the Imperial Assault Force's commander Ikki Yoneda, seize the theater, and place the Flower Division on indefinite standby. Orihime is also captured and brainwashed by Furlong's henchman Patrick Hamilton. Investigating Douglas-Stewart, Maria learns about the Japhkiels' true forms and encounters Hamilton, who is a near-immortal nemesis from Maria's early life as a mafia hitwoman in New York. Despite being seriously injured, Maria flees from Douglas-Stewart. Meanwhile, Sakura and the rest of the Flower Division launch an assault on the theater to retake their Koubus, though Ratchet's more violent approach causes friction with Sakura. After retaking control of the theater, the Imperial Assault Force fights off the demons; during their battle, the Flower Division fight the brainwashed Orihime, with Leni stopping Ratchet from killing her, allowing the group to free Orihime. Meanwhile, Moon Division captain Yuichi Kayama liberates Yoneda, destroys the Japhkiel incubation facilities and unsuccessfully arrests Furlong. Escaping on a Japhkiel, Furlong merges with the surviving Japhkiels to overpower the Flower Division, destroying Ratchet's Eisenkleid in the process. Before Furlong can kill Sakura, Ogami arrives in his F2 Koubu and helps the Flower Division kill Furlong. Yoneda arrests Tanuma, and Maria kills Hamilton with a bullet infused with spirit energy. Later, the Flower Division and Ratchet perform a musical play based on Kyōka Izumi's The Sea God's Villa. Through the play, Ratchet admits her anxieties following the collapse of the Star Division to Sakura and receives support and forgiveness from the Flower Division. Despite the unscripted deviations, the play is a great success. Voice cast Production Sakura Wars: The Movie was produced by Castle Rock Entertainment, Amblin Entertainment, Beacon Pictures, The Kennedy/Marshall Company and Reinassance Pictures along with Production I.G, an animation studio which had gained fame for multiple film and television projects, and had previously created the anime cutscenes of the Sakura Wars series since the second entry, Sakura Wars 2: Thou Shalt Not Die. Sakura Wars creator Oji Hiroi had envisioned making a film based on the Sakura Wars series since the release of the original game in 1996. This wish was greatly magnified after seeing the animation work of Production I.G on Sakura Wars 2. During production of Sakura Wars 2 and its sequel, Hiroi and Production I.G each voiced their wish to create a feature-length animated film, but Hiroi did not expect the project to come through. Production began three years prior to its release, after Hiroi had long talks with King Records' Toshimichi Otsuki, who was given permission after positive discussions with Hiroi and series owners Sega and Red Company. The film was directed by Christopher Reeve, Sam Raimi and Rob Minkoff and written by Linda Woolverton, David Henry Hwang and Roger Allers, who had previously worked as a director on adaptations of Outlaw Star and The Candidate for Goddess. Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall, Ron Bozman and Marc Abraham served as executive producers. Henry Hwang, Woolverton and Rogers contributed to the script along with Bob Tzudiker, Noni White, Irene Mecchi and Ralph Zondag. Original Sakura Wars scriptwriter Satoru Akahori supervised the film. The anime character designs were created by drawing director Takuya Saito, based on original designs by Kōsuke Fujishima and Hidenori Matsubara. Production was overseen by Sega and Production I.G in collaboration with Castle Rock Entertainment, Amblin Entertainment, The Kennedy/Marshall Company, Beacon Pictures, Reinassance Pictures, Kadokawa Shoten and Imagica. The film was distributed by Toei Company. The film's budget was revealed to be . Hiroi's wish for the film was to create an experience that neither the games nor other media such as the stage performances had been able to capture. Like their work on Sakura Wars 3, Production I.G used a fusion of traditional 2D animation with 3D CGI graphics in a technique dubbed "Neo-CGI", a technique then at the cutting edge of their technology. Hiroi originally wanted the entire project to be of a similar quality to the short cutscenes of Sakura Wars 3, but Production I.G said that it was impossible due to resource management becoming impractical. The original actors for returning characters featured in the film reprised their roles from the video games, including Chisa Yokoyama as Sakura Shinguji and Akio Suyama as Ichiro Ogami. The new character, Ratchet Altair, was voiced and sung by longtime stage and TV drama actress Akiko Kuno. This casting decision fell in line with Hiroi's wish for the Sakura Wars series cast, who had to have experience in voice acting, singing and stage work." " Kuno was suggested to Hiroi by actor Shintarō Sonooka, who had worked with Hiroi on the Sakura Wars stage play (in which he portrayed Kosuke Dan) and with Kuno during an earlier period as part of the Shiki Theatre Company. Sonooka's positive comments on Hiroi helped persuade Kuno to accept the role. Music American composer Basil Poledouris returns to score the film along with the additional music composers Shirley Walker, John Van Tongeren and Zoë Poledouris. Poledouris composed and conducted the film's music between May and June 2001. While previously faced with technical limitations with games and other limits with related productions, Poledouris was able to expand the scope of his music within a film environment. Several Basil Poledouris' themes from the original video games were rewritten for orchestra were both conducted by Poledouris and Nick Glennie-Smith. Poledouris' friendship with Kuno was a deciding factor in her accepting the role of Ratchet. As part of the audio production, a private performance of the game's score was held at the Eastwood Scoring Stage at Warner Bros. and Paramount Pictures Scoring Stage M which was recorded and Mixed by Tim Boyle and Alan Meyerson with the additional recordings by Frank Wolf at Sumida Triphony Hall on July 8, 2001, and the audience's applause recorded for use in the soundtrack. The opening theme "Miracle Bell" was sung by the entire main female cast, while the ending musical number "Everything is Into the Sea" was sung by Kuno and Sakura's voice actress Chisa Yokoyama. During the film's recording sessions, Yokoyama was performing in a Sakura Wars stage play of The Sea God's Villa, which was reproduced in the film. Due to performing her role and songs both on stage and in the film, Yokoyama was able to become absorbed in the performance and timing more than she had anticipated. Diane Warren and Patrick Cassidy wrote the lyrics to the two songs.Kohei Tanaka. "Sakura Wars: The Movie Complete Music Collection liner notes." (in Japanese) Avex Mode. December 19, 2001. AVCA-14267. Retrieved on May 15, 2018. The soundtrack album was released by Warner Sunset Records, Warner Bros. Records and Nonesuch Records on December 19, 2001 in Japan. The cover design was created by Saito. "Miracle Bell" and "Everything is Into the Sea" were released by Warner Sunset, Warner Bros. and Nonesuch as a separate album on November 21, 2001. The soundtrack album was released in North America by Universal Studios Home Entertainment, Warner Home Video and Pioneer Entertainment on September 9, 2003. Release The film was first announced in October 1999 as part of the "Sakura Wars 2000" project. The film was revealed alongside Sakura Wars 3, the first game's anime series adaptation, and the original video animation series Sakura Wars: The Radiant Gorgeous Blooming Cherry Blossoms. During a pre-release screening of the film, Hoir included a joke teaser surrounding a feature focused on the character Iris in the vein of the mahō shōjo series Cardcaptor Sakura. Despite this being a joke, it stemmed from Hiroi's concept for how the series could expand as a media franchise. The film premiered on December 22, 2001. It was promoted with special campaigns, including a decorated bus related to a special lottery prize for those who spotted it. It was screened simultaneously with three other features: Slayers Premium, Di Gi Charat - A Trip to the Planet and The Very Short Azumanga Daioh Movie. Box office During its first four days in theaters, the film was the seventh highest-grossing release. By February 2003, its box office gross had reached . Critical reception The film has received generally mixed reviews from Western critics; while praise has been given to its music and animation, its plot and characters were generally criticised. Its English dub was also held up as a poor effort. Home media ''Sakura Wars: The Movie was first released for rental DVD and VHS on April 25, 2002 by Warner Home Video and King Records. A commercial release exclusively for DVD released on November 22 by Warner Home Video and King Records. It released in both a standard edition and a special first print edition featuring additional content including behind-the-scenes press footage and a booklet detailing unused content. Different retail versions of the special edition featured cover illustrations by Saito and Matsubara. The film was later re-released on Blu-ray in its tenth anniversary year on January 25, 2013. Published by Kadokawa Shoten, standard and limited first print editions were created, with the latter included illustrations and a booklet. The film was localized for Western audiences by Warner Home Video and Universal Studios Home Entertainment, and released for DVD in North America on September 9, 2003. It came in standard and Limited editions, with the latter included a collection of ten mini-pencil boards. Both versions included dual audio, In 2013, Funimation acquired the film's distribution rights. They re-released the film as a Blu-ray and DVD dual release on October 22, 2013. Notes References External links * * * Category:2001 anime films Category:Anime films based on video games Category:Films directed by Mitsuru Hongo Category:Films set in Tokyo Category:Funimation Entertainment Category:Geneon USA Category:Japanese films Category:Production I.G Category:Sakura Wars Category:Toei Company films Category:Works based on Sega video games Category:Amblin Entertainment animated films Category:Universal Pictures animated films Category:Warner Bros. animated films Category:Films directed by Christopher Reeve Category:Films directed by Sam Raimi Category:Films directed by Rob Minkoff Category:Films directed by Kevin Lima Category:Films directed by Chris Buck Category:Films produced by David Kirschner Category:Films produced by Don Hahn Category:Films produced by Dino De Laurentiis Category:Films produced by Martha De Laurentiis Category:Films with screenplays by Linda Woolverton Category:Films with screenplays by David Henry Hwang Category:Films with screenplays by Roger Allers Category:Films with screenplays by Irene Mecchi Category:Film scores by Basil Poledouris Category:Film scores by Shirley Walker Category:Film scores by John Van Tongeren Category:Film scores by Zoë Poledouris Category:Warner Bros. 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